There is so much interest nowadays on indigenous knowledge systems. Researchers are curious what may be useful to meet current challenges. Bioprospectors are hoping to make commercial value to their find. The subject of ethics is primary in this kind of study (a discourse on this: http://www.devcom.edu.ph/site/dr-flor-shares-insights-on-indigenous-knowledge-research-with-devcom-students.html), while validation of the applicability of the practices may be constrained by the lack of holistic view and approach of researchers. When practices only include those that are in the realm of the 5 senses (or those in the material/physical), not much progress can be made. When practices beyond actual farming/gardening practices are included progress may be achieved, but only if the science is expanded and include the non-material or spiritual science (e.g., that of anthroposophy of Rudolf Steiner). To see indigenous or local practices in a better light, we need to consider what our world is made of beyond the physical, and what the role of consciousness is to make thoughts and intentions become real. Agriculture provides a rich material for the discussion. Quantum agriculture encompasses both material and non-material aspects. Below is an article that I wrote to expand the discussion on some fundamental subjects…

To give some more grounding on Quantum Agriculture I write a little bit about some fundamental topics that are also really complex and can fill up an infinite number of pages.

Indigenous Practices

The indigenous and local peoples are much into “odd” or unusual practices, rituals and belief systems. Often the material scientists disregard the value of these practices, even if their application proves that they work and that they are shared by many cultures all over the world.

Most practices reside in the material science realm. Some are a mix of material and non-material. Here is a talk giving an example of indigenous practices that combine both:

Beyond the usual practices are those that include simply doing nothing but simply imagining, believing, or thinking about an outcome. It may even be by just being present in the field or the garden. It is said that the more highly evolved the consciousness of the farmer or gardener is, the more effective is the practice. And improved consciousness may be achieved with cultivation, unless the person is already innately gifted with such capacities. Prayers, chants, offerings, and other forms of invocations are still rich among indigenous cultures. Other practices that accompany these could be dancing, chanting, using hand gestures and/or objects to represent a phenomenon, like hanging bottles on the vine for plants to imitate and bear fruit.

It is also common to use plants or other objects to achieve protection or have a healthy harvest (http://www.spiritualworld.co.za/herbs/magicalusesofherbs.htm; http://www.spellsofmagic.com/coven_ritual.html?ritual=1782&coven=147). The practice of letting crop seeds like maize go through the head of a snake (can just be the skull) so the subsequent crop may not be infested with rats is also common. Here it is believed that rats would sense the “presence” of a snake and such presence, which may be only what remains of it (also called the information or energy pattern), is imparted to and carried by the ritualized seed samples during the growing season. A perspective on snakes is given here:

Snakes also signify regeneration; they are an image of the synthesis of the generative power of the cosmos. On an even more practical, agrarian level, snakes predate upon many of the small animals that eat seeds and grain stores. This may be connected to Chicomecóatl in Her guise as the guardian of foodstuffs.http://www.matrifocus.com/IMB09/key.htm

I have heard about the power of smoke on seed germination, such as after a forest fire, about 15 years ago… seeds that need to be scarified to sprout may be given a softer treatment: smoking, or smudging, and the result is the same. Is it just the fire, the smoke, the combination of fire and smoke that bring the seeds to life after a bush fire? Sometimes it appears that smoke can be a substitute treatment for a harsher germination promoter like fire.

I kept this interest alive and let it stay in my consciousness until this year when I got introduced to a liquid that is smokey… some call it smoke-water. The product can greatly stimulate plant growth, among others. Here is a good link to the smoke-germination subject: http://anpsa.org.au/seed.html An extract follows:

” Smoke

Research in South Africa and Western Australia has shown that smoke is a critical factor for promoting germination of seeds in areas subject to bushfires. The following articles outline some of the general principles involved:

On a large scale, an apparatus like that below can be used to apply smoke to batches of seed. However, this is not particularly practical for the average home propagator.

Diagram from Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Short Report No.48

One practical method of applying smoke treatment is the use of smoked water as a pre-treatment where seed is soaked for 12 hours in a 9:1 water:smoke-water solution. Smoke water can be produced by bubbling smoke through a container of water for about 60 minutes after which the solution is frozen until needed. However, even this is a bit messy…”

So, what is in the smoke? Some 10 years ago, a friend told me that she had all sorts of health problems as a young child, including having a congenital cyst or growth on top of her head. The local healer included a daily exposure to smoke and this lasted for weeks. Of course this is something that is usually done along with other treatments. But the use of smoke has been a phenomenon especially among indigenous cultures, from food to agriculture, from worship to healing, especially for cleansing of energies. “Luop”, “palina” are among practices still being done by local folks to reverse negative situations and to remove negative energies or factors. Rituals in religious practices also use smoke through incense, herbals and others.

The subject is vast. Literature is equally overflowing. Suffice to say here that the science behind smoke can give explanation to the effectiveness of indigenous practices. Smoking partially releases the ether of a substance and in that ether resides the mystical power, the opposite or enhanced effect of the substance. There is interaction between the fire and the other substances and related practices, but also with the intention and nature of the healer her/himself. Burning can be also done biologically, and that is why microorganism are considered the firehouse of the soil. Thus the power of the compost, and our bodies, as our digestive system orchestrates transformation together with microorganisms and enzymes in the gut. It is also in these venues where transubstantiation or transmutation occurs, or where the nature of an element is altered to become an entirely different element (imagine how silicon may become phosphorus; milk from blood). Through smoke the principle of ”like cures like” or of homeopathy is also actualized where the opposite effect may be imparted for as long as the preparation is very dilute and potentized. Imagine for example that coffee which is a stimulant can be the cure for mental hyperactivity.

One could look at the quantum phenomenon of smoke this way also… the organism is a product of a series of contraction and expansion. The property of the part (example fruit-seed) may be opposite to the other part which represents expansion (example leaves). Thus, the pepper fruit’s spiciness is countered by the plant’s leaves, the durian flesh’s smell is countered by the shell that contained the flesh, etc. There are many examples of these polarities which have been tapped by people of long ago. A favorite link which deals with biodynamics and contains this discussion is http://oregonbd.org/Class/Mod3.htm

Comparative experiments have been carried out to test the impact of Agnihotra. These experiments have been reported in Madan and Manohar (1990). Dr. B.G. Bhujbal of Pune’s M.J.P. Agricultural University has conducted experiments in germinating grape seed and rooting grape cuttings treated with Agnihotra. He reported that seeds germinate in 21 days whilst the control sample took 6 months to germinate. Cuttings treated with Agnihotra developed better roots than the control sample. Dr Ramashraya Mishra experimented with the germination and development of wheat plants. He compared the growth of plants treated with hotra, those grown in the traditional way, and those in a control sample.

Similar trends have been observed among my students who did their thesis on agnihotra.

My Quantum Agriculture stirrings started in the 1990′s with Biodynamic Agriculture and Indigenous Knowledge. Betsy (Ma Helenita) Gamela of the Don Bosco Diocesan Youth Center, Inc., in Makilala, Cotabato had given me an early deep insight about Biodynamics which is occasionally posted in the media or the internet (examples are this one and another one).

An earlier documentation about her initiative may be read in a chapter of a book which I edited- Compendium on Sustainable Agriculture. Perspectives and Strategies of Advocates and Practitioners in the Philippines- by UNDP.

Then a lecture at UPLB by Nick Perlas was held in 2004. A transcription of this talk on “Scientific Advances on Agriculture, Medicine and Societal Change”, which emphasized non-material aspects (I call these “quantum”), is available here: ScientificAdvancesinAgricultureWithNickPerlas.pdf . Two meetings were subsequently held that same day, attended by some members of PABINHI: farmers , NGOs and academe staff.

Nick gave other lectures at UPLB, one of which was on ” Deep Spirituality in Agriculture” , held in 2006 (this was earlier posted in this same site).

Much earlier (early 1990′s), Nick already wrote a comprehensive article on the “Second Scientific Revolution” . Read article here:
You will see that the new things being talked about now were already known before and were popular elsewhere). Further writings embody the same but more updated concepts. One of these is the “Science of the Impossible” (may be downloaded here: http://www.thinkoutword.org/pdfs/Nicanor.Science.pdf .

It has been 8 years since, and what Nick said then are only now starting to be talked about in the academic community. The outside community is more ahead in the understanding, accepting and the applying of these new scientific advances than the academia.

I am trying out a course in the academe. It is entitled Quantum Agriculture. I am also boldly infusing other courses that I teach with quantum concepts. Colleagues have a hard time following my logic. It is simple. A concept may be presented in various ways and at different levels. Quantum concepts do not conflict with those already contained in a curriculum. They simply bring one back to the synthesis level. From matter or material science to energy and information level. Understanding then becomes deep and comprehensive. There is another aspect in my teaching that makes students express what they imbibed through another avenue… through their heart or right brain… through arts and music. Earlier I posted a video produced by some students. Poems are other expressions in the course. Here are three poems by Mark Parducho, after his experience in a big event- Syensaya or Fun Science- where we featured Quantum Agriculture. The posters in pdf version may be seen here…

It is (seed)

In the book, in the box, in the drawer,
On a bread, in the fruit from a flower,
Or even floating on flowing river
These are seeds which we can find everywhere.
It is one of the best blessings from God,
Where complex things are embedded inside.
From a simple little thing to a bud,
Then to a plant where air and light collide.
It could lift our lives from ground to above,
Relieve us from pain to be as free as dove.
It’s a majestic curing that they and us have,
That would become better with our touch of love.
All we knew ‘bout them are not peculiar,
So we try to seek for unfamiliar.
Let’s go beyond our imagination,
And try to break the walls of restriction
&&&&&&&&

What a Seed

The air we breathe, light and heat,
Earth and water these are all we need
Able to mold, construct and build
A mysterious thing we call seed
Rushing water brought the chaos
But through rhythms of the cosmos
It had stabilized all the flaws
Thanks to the different concepts and laws.
Each has its own spirit in line,
But we try to mess with this design
And then we’re committing a crime
By modifying them each time.
We just can’t take them as they are,
Because of our greed and desire.
But it’s not late to start a fire
And make a spark on a rusty wire.

&&&&&&&

At First… quantum exhibit

At first, it was like a required work
Just like the pairing of spoon and fork,
Until experience had knocked on the door
And let it enter and take my floor
At first, I don’t know what to find
I think I was lost like an abandoned blind,
But there was something that whispered in my mind
That brought me to a spot where spells have bind.
At first…all was at first
Never thought knowledge would burst
Just like a magic breaking a curse
A divine water that relieves my thirst.

&&&&&&&

Let me also present another student project: Man in the Mirror, a video made by Juni Frio and Zeta Sanchez. The students advocate change starting with self. Education is self-reflection.

Dance has an effect on the viewer and the watcher. But what about on plants? This is a question that many don’t think much about… Rituals with dances during different stages of crop growth are being performed by a community of people or by special members such as shamans and other spirit-filled people. I had a brief taste of eurythmy (“visible” speech; http://www.eurythmy.org/about_eurythmy.htm) and inner dance and they haunt me to tell their story in relation to plants. They are not just movements to heal people. They can be also an impulse to express into art. Johnny Danganan has brought his Inner Dance (as found by Pi Villaraza- http://www.bahaykalipay.com/?page=thei ; http://services.inquirer.net/mobile/07/10/28/html_output/xmlhtml/20071004-92442-xml.html) into some kind of quantum touch and healing, and ART (http://lingkod-sayaw.blogspot.com/ ). These dances may be used to change the atmosphere’s vibration and life giving forces and thus affect crop and seedling growth. My work is on seeds but my exploration on the subject, the link on dance and seed is still at stage 1 (curiosity and reflection). Yet I gather initial evidence and testimony from friends- that seed germination and vigor, seedling and plant growth form respond to different “letters” when delivered as movement or dance form. Like sound or words and music, movement also affects the atmosphere and other aspects of nature entangled with it. We shall explore this farther… for now I believe that inner meditative dance and movement are very much a way to connect to the source, through a very strong cosmic antenna, the human body in which the spirit resides. For the Cebuanos, the effect of Sinulog dance (http://www.sinulog.ph/about_sinulog/backgrounder.html ; http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Sinulog ; http://www.nowpublic.com/sinulog___ ) on plants would be intriguing to know…

WAVE OF CHANGE

A new wave of change is here. This wave permeates all aspects of human and earth existence. On the other hand, new knowledge is being revealed and new tools are being developed to answer current challenges: illnesses, pests and diseases, climate changes, calamities, etc. Approaches have been 2-pronged: one hangs on to the old mechanistic reductionist model, the other explores what is beyond that, as well as the fundamental role of human beings in addressing all these challenges in a synthesis way. Einstein’s premise is that we cannot find solution to our problems with approaches that come from the same framework that created the problem in the first place. These solutions must be coming from outside the box. And that outside the box space has been there all along, among ancient practices and teachings, and is now confirmed by the new science of “quantum”.

Quantum Quote

Nature, that universal and public manuscript.

Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682, English physician and author)

Watch This!

“…Siegel buzzes around the globe and deep into the hive… Honey has never looked so delicious. Or so precious.”
- Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times, Critic’s Pick
-New York Daily News
- The New York Post